Kjærlighet Vil Tine
by darkrunner
Summary: One phrase carries them through life - love will thaw. One-shot collection. 6. Followup to incendium. Loosely based on Songs of Ice and Snow. Elsa and Anna reflect on Albert's attack. "Elsa. Your powers. Are they...?" Post-near-death-experience!Elsa, sister fluff.
1. it's snowing do you wanna?

Prompt, my own headcanon: Anna's child will knock on Elsa's door and ask her if she wants to build a snowman all the time. The first time is quite unexpected. They get used to it after a while.

* * *

A small, persistent rap on the door drew Elsa out of her trade agreements. Elsa usually kept the door open. It was only ever closed when her work piled dangerously high. Her most frequent visitor was Anna, but this wasn't her usual quick three knocks and instant entrance (As the door was typically open, Anna only forced entrance under the most dire of circumstances. Things on fire, arguments with Kristoff, deciding the menu for dinner. _Important _things.)

Nor was it one of Olaf's spontaneous entrances, as he never bothered with knocking when he intended to enter. Neither did the sharp voices of the guards accompany the knocks - ruling out nine-tenths of her usual visitors. The knocking continued, soft and steady, as Elsa pushed back the great carved chair and crossed to the door.

The bare metal handle was neither cool nor warm to her touch, despite the early winter chill in the air. Elsa pulled the door back, blinking at the light from the picture window in the hall.

"Auntie Elsa!" the child bounced up and down. "It's snowing! It's snowing!"

True enough, snow - natural, non-magical snow - was falling lazily in the midafternoon sky. The grounds were already losing all color but white. The snow brought Elsa memories of childhood and mountain palaces, like it always did. But memories tempered by the last few years, so that they no longer tore at her and threatened to make her lose control.

"Yeah, it is," she smiled. "Where's your mother? You should go out and play."

"No, I wanna play with you, auntie!" The girl stamped her foot to emphasize the point. Elsa scanned the hallway. Surely Anna wasn't far away. Elsa couldn't bear to disappoint her child, but there was so much work before the week was out.

"I can't today."

"Why not?"

"I have to read over our trade agreements with Kristensand, and then the prince and princess of Corona are coming soon and there are many things to prepare-" the child crossed her arms, not actually caring for details of visiting royalty. Elsa quickly shortened the explanation "I'm busy today. I'm sorry."

"Just for a little bit!"

"No, I really can't-" A swish of skirts around the corner caught her eye. Anna peeked out from behind the wall. Elsa wasn't sure if Anna had put her daughter up to this or was just waiting to see the outcome. Either way, Elsa wasn't letting Anna stay out of it. "Look, here's your mama, she'll take you out to play."

Anna stepped out from her hiding spot, a little crestfallen. Clearly she had wanted Elsa to put aside the work for the afternoon. "Come on, Gerda. Auntie can play another time."

"But I want to play with-

"Gerda."

"Just for-"

"No."

"Just long enough to-"

"Nuh-uh."

Elsa covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at how much Gerda took after her mother. Anna picked the girl up, bouncing her in her arms. "Come on, let's get ready to go outside."

But Gerda stubbornly turned to Elsa one more time and pleaded. "Don't you wanna build a snowman?"

Those words hadn't been uttered in the palace for years. That dreaded night when they were kids. Knocking. Closed doors. A veiled portrait. Elsa, normally so composed and controlled, felt something almost like a physical blow. She attempted to reply, but could find no words.

Anna had a similar reaction, mouth actually hanging open at her daughter's question. The sisters looked from Gerda to each other.

"Did you-?" Elsa started to ask, _did you tell her to say that?_ but from the look on Anna's face, she already knew the answer.

"Did _you_-?" Anna was just as taken aback.

Gerda, neither understanding nor caring what all the fuss was over her simple question, repeated herself: "Mama, auntie, do you wanna build a snowman?"

Elsa briefly thought of the unanswered missives on her desk, the trade agreements to review and approve, the pair from Corona due to arrive in a week, and- and-

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

"Yes," Elsa found her voice, something like a smile starting on her face. "Yes we do."

Gerda raised her arms in triumph. "Yay!" Anna beamed, more excited than her daughter. They turned down the hallway. "Come on, let's go find your father and Sven and get a good carrot."

"Why do we need a carrot?"

"For the nose, silly! Don't you know how to build snowmen?"

Anna and Gerda's voices grew less distinct as they bounded down the hall to the kitchens and Elsa followed.

* * *

I almost feel bad writing Frozen fanfic because there are authors out there who do a much better job than I. (Anysia and thefireplanet in particular) But this idea was too cute and I had a long layover, so here you go.

"Kristensand" is borrowed from Halm Vendrella's "Frozen: The Snow Queen".


	2. practice makes perfect

A/N: takes place... long enough after the movie for Kristoff to be able to somewhat casually talk with Elsa cause I didn't think about that till after I wrote most of this and I still liked it, and I like their interaction.

I would make this a separate fic, but I like this title too much.

* * *

The glittering jet of magic swirls, settles, and hardens into a crystal-clear block. Elsa's bare hand hangs in midair. Pauses. She listens over the howling wind.

"I know you're there."

Kristoff shifts uncomfortably behind his rock. Should he attempt to sneak away, or should he face (what he hoped wasn't going to be the wrath of) the ruler of Arendelle, Anna's big sister, the queen of ice? He reluctantly stands, but with feet still planted behind the rock and only the top half of him exposed. Not that she was going to do anything. But, y'know, just in case.

"Hey Els- erm, Your Majesty." Stiffly, he bows, his head dipping behind the rock and bobbing comically back up again.

In another situation, Elsa might stifle a laugh. "You know you don't have to call me that. What are you doing here?"

"Hi… Elsa, then. Just... uh... out... getting some ice." He winces. Smooth, Kristoff.

"'Out getting some ice'," she repeats, unimpressed. Kristoff pulls his hat off, twisting it for something to focus on other than Elsa's reaction.

"Anna was worried, and she said you were going to practice, so I thought I'd..." he falters for a moment. "Well, check on you, while I was out and... uh... yeah." He jams the hat back on, crooked. Beat. He realizes what he's forgotten to say, adds, "Anna doesn't actually know I'm here."

Elsa fixes him a hard gaze. Kristoff can read Anna like an open book - well, everyone can - but Elsa is much more elusive, much more controlled. Kristoff squirms a bit. He's not the prince consort _yet_. And even if he were a king, Elsa would still make him nervous. Not because she's queen, not because of the ice, but because she's Anna's big sister.

Well, maybe a bit because she's the queen. But Elsa breaks off her sternness with a sigh. The wind lessens.

"You didn't need to do that." Her hand fills with snow, spiraling around in her palm.

"I wanted to."

"To check on me? Or to see the ice?" She scatters the miniature storm into the wind, drawing patterns of snow.

"Both," he admits, watching the beautiful designs in the air. The harsh winds sting at his back. Kristoff shivers. Elsa notices, holds out a hand, and the storm stops. The snow drifts gently to the ground.

"Do I still need checking on?" Elsa draws herself in, one hand finding the other.

"Ye-well, no, not like that-but you get-Anna just worries-" Elsa waits patiently as he stammers his way through a sentence. "Worries about you, what's going on when you go out by yourself."

His words catch her off-guard and sting her. Magic runs into her fingertips. She fights to keep it there, not to let it out any farther. Ice skates out from under her feet. Even Kristoff can read the hurt expression on her face. He steps out from his boulder, halving the distance between them. Elsa sees the ice growing towards him and it only loosens her control on the magic. Kristoff either doesn't notice or doesn't care that she's so close to freezing his feet.

"No, no, not the ice! Not the… not _what_ you're doing," he amends quickly. "She's worried about the _why_."

Elsa pauses, suddenly understanding. "Oh."

The ice shrinks back, though still shadows her. The previous day's argument comes to mind. Offended dignitaries and escaped horses and one extremely damaged merchant ship doesn't seem so important anymore here in the mountains with her sister's almost-husband hiding meekly behind a rock and asking if she's okay.

"I'm not angry with her." Not angry, but something else, and the magic pulses in her hands. Elsa crosses her arms now, pressing her palms to her sides, as if she could push the ice back in. Not angry. Anxious. Pressured. Overwhelmed.

"I know that, and Anna knows that."

"I try to keep it in. But it just-" the magic itches under her palm. She raises her hands to the sky, throws a flurry into the air over their heads. "It wants out." It's not Anna that upsets her - it could never be Anna. It's everything _else_. The wind howls again, slicing through the gently falling snow. Elsa drops her hands, frustrated.

"I'm afraid of it. 'Love will thaw'. But I don't want to have to thaw anything again." Snowflakes hang suspended in midair. Kristoff sees her stiffen, her hands tighten around herself. She's thinking of a sword shattering, her cries echoing across the frozen fjord. Elsa breathes in, out; the snow resumes its descent.

There's a long beat. They will never forget that moment. When they both were useless, and when they both could have stopped it from happening. Kristoff understands. The way Anna jumps into his sled and says 'where are we getting ice today?' and he says 'slow down, feistypants' with a smile, but he _thinks_ of the time she almost died and he wanted to die too and how he won't ever let that happen again. He gets it. Well, not the magic ice powers thing. But the wanting to protect Anna. He puts on his most casual voice, like, you know, he just chats with the queen all the time about how she should use her magic ice powers - _don't think about this Kristoff just act cool - no wait, bad joke – arrghh - _

"So you're practicing. That sounds like a good idea to me." And his heavily booted foot is back in his mouth. Elsa drops her arms to her sides. Kristoff fumbles to recover himself. "Ah- I mean- not that you can't control it-just-y'know-it's a normal thing."

Elsa deadpans_. _Normal.

He winces, amends: "A _healthy_ thing. A thing that won't worry Anna if you just tell her."

Elsa should probably be offended that he's giving her advice when he basically came to spy on her, but she's so grateful for anyone that can help her understand her estranged sister that she just nods, hands clasping together.

"You're right."

Kristoff doesn't know any way to reply to her without sounding like a fool. _Thanks, your majesty. Your friendly peasant troll-raised ice harvester is always here to advise the sovereign ruler of Arendelle. _Yeah, _no, _he's gonna keep his mouth shut this time. But the silence is a peaceful one. They understand each other. Elsa draws herself up, suddenly composed, and Kristoff wonders if the conversation really just happened. She's going to turn away, but stops and catches his eye.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Were you worried?"

"N—well, not about the ice."

"Then what?"

"Ah- that's okay."

"Kristoff."

"It's too…" he rubs the back of his neck. "Okay, but don't tell Anna."

"What is it?"

"I don't want you guys to worry about each other. You've been through enough. You should just get to be happy now. No more closed doors. You're the only family you have, and that's important and… and... I just want you guys to be okay."

He feels his face growing hot while Elsa just _looks_. She wants to tell him that's what she wants, too. That's all she's ever wanted but didn't dare to hope. That it means so much for another person to understand something about her, another person that is not her sister. That there is at least one other person in the world who has only known her as she is now and still can accept her and her powers and will come out after her to make sure she's okay.

She wants to tell him that she'll be proud to have him as a brother-in-law. As a brother_. _

But neither of them is much for words, and Elsa finds herself still staring at Kristoff. She clears her throat, which is suddenly tight with emotion.

"Thank you," she says finally. Kristoff jerks his head in acknowledgement. The moment lingers over them.

And then they both look away, and the moment is over. Elsa raises a hand and snow shoots up from the ground, twisting into a delicate sculpture. Kristoff coughs.

"So I guess… I should…" he can't finish the sentence. Elsa can sense his discomfort.

"You can go."

"Yeah, I know."

"...you should go."

"...I know."

"But," Elsa flicks her finger. The ice springs from the ground, branching and growing roughly in the shape of a tree. Kristoff can't help but let out an admiring whimper. Elsa finds herself smiling. "You don't have to."

* * *

Song puns are too much fun, so here, have one that I cut.

"So you come out by yourself to... let it go?"

Something like a smile plays across her face. "You have no idea."


	3. incendium

A/N: Inspired by thefireplanet's Songs of Ice and Snow. Which is literally the best fanfiction I've ever read and if you like Frozen, fanfiction, or good literature in general, you should go read it.

I wrote two versions of this; one with Kristoff and one without. Interestingly, the Kristoff version won out.

Drama-betrayal-angst, not fluff this time. You've been warned.

* * *

The humid air stuck in her throat. Elsa crossed to the window and threw it open, but the late summer afternoon was devoid of wind.

"Is something wrong, Queen Elsa?" The prince's face was unreadable. Peeking out from his mop of untidy hair were those sharp eyes - _his eyes_ – that belonged in the head of another prince of the Southern Isles.

"No—" his eyes following her. Sweat trickled down her face, in the crook of her arm, the small of her back. She was so warm. "I'm fine." The room was hazy. She gripped the windowsill, hard. Why was it so hot? Her stomach churned; her heart raced. 'Calm' was so far behind her. No, she was nervous, anxious, _panicked._ There should be ice - snow - wind - something.

"You don't usually feel the heat, do you?" His voice was too slick. Too suave. _No one was getting anywhere with her. _This prince was channeling his youngest brother.

Elsa pulled on the magic. She tried to feel, to let it free. Her hands frosted over once; and then water dripped from her palms onto the floor. Her curse, her gift, her magic was drained, like the sun overhead was melting her away.

"This is how the rest of us feel."

He moved swiftly, but not silently. Elsa turned as he came upon her, blade dully flashing in the stark sunlight. She raised her hands on instinct. Ice rose in a brittle sheet before her. His knife stuck for a moment, and then the ice shattered and found its mark. Elsa twisted away with only a shallow wound, but when she wrapped her arm around her torso, she could feel the warm blood through the fabric of her dress.

"Not all gone," he hissed. His eyes - _those eyes_ - narrowed. _I already have. _Elsa stumbled behind the desk, tripping over the huge chair and landing full-body on the floor with a heavy thud. "Help—!"

Even as Elsa shouted, the door flew open. Anna barged into the room, one hand on the knob, Kristoff pulling on the other, evidently trying to stop her. The triumphant look slid off her face and morphed into one of horror. Kristoff banged into her as she halted in the doorway.

"I knew it—!" Anna managed before the prince, not missing a beat, threw himself at the intruding pair. Elsa's heart stopped.

"_Anna—!"_

Elsa threw her free hand out at them, but instead of skewering Albert she did nothing more than toss cold slush. The ice shot in an arc across the room but melted before it could take shape and puddled at Anna's feet. The prince lost his footing in the water, backpedaling to regain his balance.

Kristoff was still holding onto Anna and pulled her backwards. She fell into the door, safely behind Kristoff who made a desperate grab for the prince's unguarded hand. He caught it, and they grappled for the knife. Albert abruptly let go of the thing. Kristoff fumbled for it as it slid through his grasp, and unseen, the prince drew another.

"Kristoff, DUCK!"

"Wha-?" he stammered, already bent halfway over trying to grab the fallen knife. And a good thing, or Anna, taking no time to see if Kristoff had complied, would have hit him in the head with the bronze bust she 'd wrenched from the pedestal by the door.

The metal sculpture flew over Kristoff's bent back, and caught Albert in the chest. _Those eyes_were wide with shock. Something cracked, and he crumpled to the floor. Kristoff pinned him, and hit him once in the side of the head for good measure. Albert went limp, but Kristoff knocked the knife away and held him down, not taking any chances.

The room was stifling. Elsa tightened her arm around her waist, pain, blood, heat, _don't feel_. She drew a shaky breath. Anna was kneeling next to her.

"Nice shot, Elsa! Did you see what I—what—are you okay?" Elsa made no move to get up, but lay limp on the floor. Anna realized something was very wrong. "Hey. Elsa. Are you joking? You don't do that. I do that. Please be joking."

"It's okay. It's not—that bad." Elsa's hand clamped over where the knife had struck. Anna noticed, and put a hand on her sister's. Elsa flinched, her arm shifting and uncovering the wound. Anna gasped, hands covering her mouth. "_Elsa_ - "

"I'll be fine," she promised, hoped, prayed. Curled up on the floor, clutching her stomach, blood trailing behind her, she looked anything but fine. The wound was shallow, but the heat. "Just - get help."

"Right." Anna looked as frantic as Elsa felt. "I'll… I'll get - Kristoff, are you okay, is he gonna - ?"

"He's out, I've got him," Kristoff assured her, quickly. "Go."

Anna nodded, biting her lip. "I'm going—I'll be back, I'll be right back Elsa, just wait for me, alright, I swear I'll be right back!" Anna forced herself up and out of the room, shouting _Help! Help, someone help! My sister—_

Elsa pushed on the wound. Pain. All her years of cold and loneliness manifesting themselves raw and burning and bloody upon her. _Don't feel_, but it didn't work any more for the wound or the fire in her than it had for her ice or her nerves. The hazy room started to darken, pain and heat blurring her senses. So hot. So tired. Kristoff watched her, concerned.

"Erm… Elsa?" Kristoff asked tentatively. "Hey. Stay awake. Talk—tell me what happened."

Talk. Talking would keep her awake. Her voice was slow, rough. "He—"

_He, 'just' Albert. 'just' Elsa-dancing-tavern- dock- starlight-trusting-angry- happily ever after _

"—attacked," she swallowed, mind racing—_deceived-lied-deluded-betrayed-stabbed-in-the-back-why did I listen to him why did I trust him why stop thinking about him stop stop_

"The room was so hot. I tried to stop him. Ice." Ice. What about ice? _Hot-fire-burning—_She grasped for words. "The ice… melted. It's… gone…" She trailed off. Words. Talk. Keep talking.

"Elsa!" She started at the sound of her name, blinking. Kristoff looked down at the unconscious prince. He sorely wanted to leave him and go to Elsa, shaking, sweating, clutching an arm to herself like she'd fall apart if she loosened it. "You have to stay awake."

"Awake," Elsa murmured, fighting her fading vision.

Anna barreled back in, two, three guards at her heels. They took charge of the unconscious prince, two hauling him away and one staying at the door. Kristoff sat on his haunches, watching Anna slide on her knees to her sister's side.

"Elsa, I'm here, the doctor's coming, it's gonna be alright." Elsa nodded her head, once, up, down. She looked up at Anna, so worried, so scared.

"Fine. I'll be fine," she managed to string a sentence together, feeling anything but fine. Anna's hand was cool on her forehead, pushing damp hair out of her face.

"Elsa, you're—hot." Anna realized her sister had never been … well, _warm_ before. Ever. "You're burning up. What did he do? Your ice. There should be ice." _Why would the ice melt unless he did something to her powers?_

_Unless Elsa— is—_

Anna refused to let herself finish the thought. "What did he do, tell me he did something to your powers_, your powers, Elsa, you can't—"_

"I don't know." Elsa curled in on herself. The ice in her veins was melted away, and there was nothing but searing heat. The last thing she knew was her free hand draped out on the floor, and Anna reaching for it and calling her name. Then heat. Darkness.

* * *

A/N: She's not dead!

If I can ever come up with more than "Elsa wakes up in the infirmary and Anna is sobbing because _thank God_ Elsa's not dead" then I'll write a follow up drabble. But she's not dead. I could never separate these two.


	4. guardian

A/N: Kai. You rock. This is for you.

* * *

Kai stands before the throne like a guard. The guests eye the empty chair - _where is the queen where has she been all these years why is she late_ - and Kai does his best to meet their stares with his own, which is a very clear _she's the queen she'll show up when she damn well pleases._

Ahem.

The footman pulls the door open, and in strides Elsa, straight-backed and the picture of confidence, grace, control. The people stare again and this time _it is the queeen! look at her! so beautiful! so regal! this is our beloved queen!_ with only a few devious looks from the parties of Weas-Weselton and the Southern Isles.

Kai surveys the girl he's helped raise for twenty-one years, her dark high-necked, floor-length gown. He remembers days of pale blue skirts and short sleeves and bare hands. He remembers a child crying for her parents, the king and queen's panicked voices, and a book not meant for his eyes but left wide open on the library desk.

Kai doesn't know the truth, not exactly. He wonders, and he imagines. What he knows is in bits and pieces. A crying child. A book of runes. A locked door. He knows Elsa is smart, and caring, and she wants to be queen. She wants to make her parents proud and guide her people.

Elsa stands before him, turning slowly, and finally surveys the crowd. Her back is straight, her head raised. Kai expects something to give. He had watched her hands shake, her face mask terror at the coronation. But she does not falter. She does not tremble. For the first time in forever, she is calm and content and she smiles.

He announces, proudly, "Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"

And perhaps he knows why she's so content, for the next thing he announces is "Princess Anna of Arendelle!"

There is a clatter from the opposite side of the room. Anna, breathless, wide-eyed, and skittish with excitement, bounds across the room and stares out at the people, trying to present herself with as much decorum as her sister. But there are so many people and she's overwhelmed with the desire to meet and talk and know everyone that she _has_ to wave, with a little too much enthusiasm. Elsa is looking out at the people, and she doesn't notice what her sister is doing or where she is standing.

She has stopped a good ten feet from Elsa.

Kai sees the gulf between the sisters. He remembers playing with a young princess who spoke nothing but admiration of the sister she never saw and hardly remembered.

He remembers abandoning all protocol and furtively whispering to the tutor _"Is she—Princess Elsa—_okay_?"_

He remembers reaching a hand to wake Anna, still in the clothes she wore to the funeral, fast asleep and curled in a lavender blanket at the foot of the white door.

Kai clears his throat and crosses down to the princess, who has now received a confused wave in return and couldn't be more delighted. He grasps her gently by the shoulders and steers her towards her sister.

He remembers two inseparable young princesses.

He remembers two grieving young women.

But he _sees_ two sisters, desperate for love.

Before he can think too much about what he's doing or if he really should be doing it, he plants Anna firmly next to Elsa. Anna stammers out something of a protest, but finishes with a meek _okay _and takes a quick sidestep. Elsa is glancing at her, still smiling and Anna doesn't know what's going on or what to do or what to say.

Kai backs away, watching the pair of them smile and laugh. The room is suddenly warmer, he thinks, or maybe he's just relieved he has not been reprimanded. Someone tugs on his sleeve, clearing his throat with importance. It is the party from _Weasel_-Weselton, and it is anxious to meet with the queen. Kai watches the sisters he has been charged with half of his life. The Duke is impatient at his arm, but Kai waits a beat, and another, and _another_, knowing full well his place and not giving a _damn_.

Ahem.


	5. safe harbor

A/N: I know there's a million Anna-at-Elsa's-door-after-the-funeral fics, but I wanted to explore the Kai-finding-Anna-asleep-in-front-of-Elsa's-room snippet I put in the previous one-shot. Also I love Kai.

* * *

The dawn is just breaking. Kai strides purposely through the halls, having found Princess Anna's door ajar and the room empty. He's not scared, not quite yet, but… perhaps a little nervous. No matter how many times the princess disappears and reappears none the worse for wear, he's always nervous.

Nervous for the girl he'd helped raise for the last 15 years. Nervous that the death of almost her whole family will break her. She is a strong girl, and Kai is proud to have been at her side. But the memory of her at the funeral haunts him, holding back tears and clutching herself like she might blow away in the wind.

He rounds the corner to Princess Elsa's hallway. No one has seen the elder princess since they received word of the king and queen. Kai expects nothing but a closed white door and a picture window. He does find both of these, with one unexpected addition. Anna's bright hair peeks out from under the black cap and lilac blanket.

Kai's eyes slide to the door. Anna is lying at the foot of it, curled in on herself. She must have fallen asleep waiting for her sister. Ten years has been a long time. One night would hardly have daunted Anna.

He raises a hand to Anna's shoulder, to wake her—but pauses. The rosemaling swirls before him, so close. His open hand hovers in midair between the princess and the door. His fist closes, and as gently as he can, he taps thrice just above the golden handle.

Kai holds his breath. Silence. Princess Elsa must still be asleep. Kai lowers his hand, kneels down, and then—

"Anna?"

It floats through the keyhole, barely a whisper. Kai pictures the princess leaning against the door; pictured red-rimmed eyes and gloved hands each holding the other. "No, your highness."

"Kai." Her voice is swimming. Louder, she asks, "What is it?"

_Are you okay? _He wants to ask, but he swallows it and says,

"Your sister slept outside the room."

There's a long pause. Kai knows full well which room the blanket came from. Finally, she admits.

"I know."

_Your sister needs you. _

"Can I do anything, your highness?"

_You need her._

"Take her back to her room. Please."

"Can I do anything for you?"

_Open the door._

"No."

Anna stirs. Kai throws one last desperate glance at the door, but holds his tongue. He pulls the blanket from Anna's shoulders. "Princess Anna."

She blinks at him in sleepy recognition. "Kai," she yawns. "Where…?"

"Let's go back to your room, highness."

Anna sits up fully, frowning at the window. She twists around to stare at the patterned door and realizes with a start—

"Elsa."

She raises a hand to thump on the door, but Kai breaks in.

"Your highness—" his voice quiets, and his stomach twists at the ruse, but he forces himself to continue. "Perhaps we should not wake your sister. You have both had a difficult few days…"

Anna's face falls and Kai cannot go on. She looks from her closed fist to the white door, sighs, lowers the hand. She lets her head fell with a soft thud against the wood.

"Why?" she asks, simply. "Why does she…?" A fresh wave of loneliness. Kai cannot bear to see her like this, not when he knows in his heart— _she must— they were so close—_ He's so earnest in his response he forgets all propriety. "Anna. Your sister loves you."

"Then _why?" _she repeats, childishly. "Why the doors and the secrets?"

_Why, indeed. _

Kai closes his eyes. He sees two inseparable young girls.

_Forgive me, highness. _

"Come, Princess Anna. Let's go to your room." Anna starts to protest, but Kai holds a finger to his lips. _Shhhh. _Anna blinks at him, confused. Kai waves his hands, like he is shooing her away. Realization dawns and she nods furiously.

"I can find my own way back." And she stomps rather dramatically down the hall. After she rounds the corner, Kai offers in a quiet voice,

"She's gone." He glances down the hallway, where Anna peeks her head back around the corner. Kai nods, and Anna flings herself on the ground and starts tugging off her boots.

He hears Elsa murmur, "Thank you."

"Are you sure there is nothing more I can do?" Anna walks on tip-toe down the hallway to him in stocking feet.

"No, there is nothing, Kai. You may go."

Well. Now what?

Anna gestures to the blanket. Kai had almost forgotten it. He brings it up in both hands gingerly. He's come this far in the ruse. He almost wants to quit, but he looks at Princess Anna's face, grieving and hopeful and so starving for love. He clears his throat.

"Would—would you like me to bring in your blanket?"

She can't let anyone into the room, but she also can't leave it there to draw attention. To remind Anna, to give her false hope.

After an eternity, Elsa replies, as though steeling herself, "Hold on."

They told their breath, and the only sounds are Elsa's soft footsteps, and the oddly crunchy turn of a door handle. The door flies open, just a moment, and she appears in the hallway and pulls it shut behind her, quickly, before he can see, before Elsa can register that _he _is a _they—_and red braids are flying as Anna launches herself at her sister, hugging and crying, and holding on like they'll break if she lets go.

Elsa stares straight ahead, stunned, her gloved hands stretched out in front of her. She shifts her focus to Kai, accusing

Y_ou lied—! _

Kai winces, offers an apologetic shrug. But as Anna cries all the pent-up tears from the funeral into her sister's shoulder, Elsa's expression melts—

—pleading—

_She's not safe take her away-_

—grieving—

_All these years why have I done this to her-_

-and finally, as she lets her trembling hands wrap carefully around Anna's shoulders, _grateful. _They're both crying and clutching each other and finally together. Kai takes a step back, naïve, hopeful. They're going to be okay now. They've found each other.

And then—

_Then_—

Elsa is crying and shaking and suddenly Anna starts. She doesn't let go or back away, but sort of jumps, just a little. Elsa reacts instantly. She's pulled away, back against the door, arms tucked in at her sides. Anna is still reaching out, reaching, _why, please—_

Kai sees the glittering handprints on the back of Anna's coat, looks from the frosted cloth to Elsa, trying to be open and accepting, but it's all so unexpected, and the pieces start clicking into place in his head, and he's speechless, staring open-mouthed at her like—

Like he's _afraid._

Elsa, terrified, looks from Kai to Anna, whispers tearfully, "I'm _sorry." _

The door flies open. The door slams shut.

Anna hasn't realized there was any magic, doesn't realize anything's amiss except Elsa has retreated once again. She pounds on the door, once, twice, demanding an explanation. Kai takes a shaky step forward. He puts a hand on her shoulder, on top of the already melted handprint. It's cold and just a little damp. They both hear Elsa's muffled sobs.

Anna's hand stops mid-swing before she can thump the door again. The sobbing slowly quiets. Anna chances, "Elsa?"

There's a gasp. She didn't know they were still listening.

"You—you don't have to be sorry." Kai puts both hands on Anna's shoulders, gives them a squeeze when Anna looks like she might break from holding herself together.

"I'm gonna leave this here for you, okay? And I'll leave for real this time. No more tricks." Anna takes the blanket from where it's draped over his arm and places it on the ground.

"Keep it."

"Elsa, it's okay—"

"No, please—please have it."

Anna picks it back up and cradles it close. "…will you be cold?"

"No." And Elsa makes a strange noise, like shaky laugh, but why would she find it funny? "I'll be fine."

Fine.

Such a relative word.

"Okay," Anna nods.

"…Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"I—" Elsa's voice is cracking, breaking at the edges. She takes a deep breath. And another. But the words won't, or can't, come.

"Princess Elsa," Somewhere far away, Kai knows he should not be speaking like this. But he should not have started this mess in the first place, and so he continues. "You have a good reason for… all this. Don't you?"

She finds her voice. "Yes."

"And—" _Finish what you started, Kai._ "You love your sister."

"_Yes." _

Anna hugs the blanket tight.

"You know where to find us, your highness, should you need anything. Anything at all."

The room is silent. Kai clears his throat. He can see the disappointment plain on Anna's face, but he has pushed enough today.

"Princess Anna, if you would like to return to your room – I'm sure Gerda is wondering where you are."

"Oh—oh yeah. She'll be totally worried." Anna looks once more at the white door. "um, Elsa… I just… this was… sorry, just—thanks. For the blanket. And for opening the door."

Silence.

Anna turns and forces herself down the hallway, not even noticing the discarded boots until she's tripped over them. As she stumbles around the corner, Kai offers his apologies to the patterned wood.

"Princess Elsa." He closes his eyes and sees icy handprints. Elsa's terrified face. What had he nearly done to them both? "I… I am sorry."

"Don't you ever do that again," she orders, commanding and regal even when she's coming apart at the seams.

"Yes, your highness."

"It's not _safe_." She slams a fist into the door on the last word. There's a crackling noise, and a frustrated groan. The wood is cold to his touch. He pulls his hands away quickly.

"You have my word, princess." He waits for more scolding, but there is none. "Is—is there anything else-?"

Elsa sighs, weary and lonely, "Kai."

"Yes, your highness."

"…thank you."


	6. melting

A/N: Of the Frozen fic I've written so far, this was my vaguest idea. I almost wasn't going to post this drabble, but someone did request a followup to incendium, (chapter 3 of this collection) and no one else has actually left prompts.

I'd like to thank all the wonderful new followers, favorite, and the few reviewers. I don't usually ask for reviews, but I really would love to hear anything at all you have to say about these fics. Especially if you have favorite characters or prompts!

Incendium was based on _Songs of Ice and Snow_ around chapter 8 or 9. Now _Songs_ is at chapter 16, and you can see my guesses were wildly wrong in so many ways. So this chapter is hardly related to _Songs_ anymore and is really just Elsa-loses-her-powers-fic.

* * *

Her only awareness was _heat. _

_Fire._

Heat and dark.

_Something's on fire._

Heat and dark and motionless.

_I'm on fire._

Then something cool, blissfully cold and freezing and _wonderful_ on her brow and voices murmuring in the distance.

And as her senses gradually sharpened, the heat became less pointed – not searing and scorching, but baking and stifling; bearable, but only just. She focused on the merciful freezing cold on her forehead and willed it to spread through the rest of her.

Was this how everyone else felt?

"—what do you _mean_ you don't know—"

"Her majesty's injuries are not severe, but her, ah, condition—"

"—_magic_—"

"Yes, yes, her magic… is something beyond my control or expertise. Perhaps when Mr. Bjorgmann—"

"That is _Sir _Bjorgmann—"

"…yes. When the Royal Ice Harvester returns from the mountains, perhaps he will have some explanation—"

Elsa woke to her sister's voice. Her navy canopy drifted into focus. The moon cut a meager shaft of light into the room. She blinked, once, twice, eyes trying to adjust to even the dim night. The window was thrown wide, and a welcoming breeze floated in from the fjord. It cooled the compress on her forehead; she reached to her head and felt a damp cloth, no longer freezing but still cooler than the rest of her. [At the table was a bowl of water, remnants of ice floating lazily. A cloak, Anna's, was thrown over the back of the chair.] She pulled the hand away, letting it fall back to her side.

Elsa tried to remember. Heat. Ice. _Albert. _

But that thought was too painful, more painful even than the magic, so she forced her focus back to _ice._

She looked to her open palm, curled and flexed her fingers and tried to let the magic loose. But she could not feel the familiar ice pulsing through in her veins. Her hand curled back into a fist, as a wave of unexpected remorse washed over her.

Albert's face flitted back in. Her frown deepened. She touched a hand to the wound on her stomach, grimacing and groaning. Bad idea.

The voices in the hallway stopped with a loud _Shhh! _ The door opened, first a crack, and then thrown wide as Anna met her sister's eyes. Anna flew to the bed, a bucket and its contents clattering as she unceremoniously dropped it to the floor.

"Elsa! You're—I was so worried—I thought—you were—but you're—_you're awake_,_" _Anna said in a grateful, tearful rush. The candle shook in her trembling hand. Elsa reached out her own to steady it.

"I'm…" she swallowed, voice rusty with non-use. " I'm okay". Together they guided the candle to the table, and then Anna was gripping her sister's hand and _not _letting go anytime soon. _Okay _was a relative term, in this case meaning just _alive. _But alive was enough for now.

Elsa drew a shaky breath. "What happened, after I…" _Passed out? Almost died?_

"The guards took _him—_" Anna refused to name Albert, which Elsa was oddly grateful for. "To the dungeon. I... uh, didn't actually know we had a dungeon. Kai told me. There's, like, half the guards down there right now. I'm not taking _any_ chances with these creeps anymore."

"And the physician came and he took you—and said—you'd be okay—" Anna paused, flooded with the memory of _please be okay please be okay please be okay_. Elsa squeezed the hand she was still gripping. Anna smiled and shook her head, like she could shake the memory out.

"It's okay. I just—you know how I get when I think about serious stuff. I blow it out of proportion and the next thing I know the palace is, like, burned down and Arendelle is gone and there's a hurricane and a tornado and a giant sea monster attacking. You know. In my head." She tried to make a joke of it, but Elsa could see the laugh didn't reach her eyes. Anna sighed and gave in to a frown. "So it's been a, uh, stressful few hours."

"Sorry," Elsa murmured. "For worrying you."

Anna shook her head again, and just like that, it was gone. True, the last few hours had been royally _sucked_, right up there with the funeral and _why do you shut me out? _and even _If only someone could love you_. But Elsa was okay, or at least, y'know, _alive, _so screw the last couple hours. With a smile that truly lit up her eyes, she joked,

"Yeah, well, just don't go having any more near-death experiences. That's my job. Ah, no, bad joke. I just—" for a moment, her voice was small again "-can't do this without you. This… princess stuff. Or anything really, it's amazing I can function most of the time, like _how _many cliffs have I fallen off of in the last month?"

Elsa couldn't help but chuckle at her sister. "Too many." The compress on her forehead slid down and she pushed it back up. Anna's eyes flickered to it.

"Oh yeah, that's what I was doing—" Anna plucked the cloth off and laid it in the bowl of melting ice water. Reaching for the bucket on the ground, she continued, "Knut said you ought to be fine, at least from the…" Anna paused – she didn't want to name it, like it would hear her and start bleeding again. "Said it was just a scratch, you were really lucky."

"The ice… held. For a moment." Elsa remembered the sharp plunge of the knife, halted in the last of her magic. "If you and Kristoff hadn't—"

"Yeah, well, not to say I-told-you-so but I am _so glad _I ignored him when he warned me not to eavesdrop." Anna emptied the contents of the bucket into the water with a splash.

"For once, so am I." Elsa sank into the pillow, overwhelmed at the thought of her and Albert alone in the room _no stop thinking about him stop_— And then there was a chill on her forehead and she yelped and _shivered._

"Sorry!" Anna said quickly. "Just—you were hot and that's kind of weird, so I thought something cold—wait. What?" Elsa shuddered again. "Can you feel that? Like it's actually… cold to _you_?"

Elsa spied the basin on the table, now filled to the brim with fresh ice. "_Yes," _she breathed.

Anna stared for a moment. The question hung over them. She didn't want to pry with her sister, but it was _Anna. _She _had_ to ask.

"Elsa. Your powers. Are they…?"

Elsa held open her palm again, closing her eyes and willing herself to feel the icy magic rush through her. The air was dead and still. The room was hot. Her fingers curled and flexed and did nothing but throw shadows in the candlelight. Elsa was overwhelmed with relief, remorse, but mostly confusion. Anna's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide and shocked.

"Gone."

* * *

"How many cliffs?" and Knut, the name of the physician are references to _Songs _chapter 14.

Kristoff went to ask the trolls for help. Somehow that fact didn't work itself into the fic.


End file.
